Kilrea firm marks out road to success in China

A Kilrea company is helping to improve safety on the network of new roads currently being constructed around Shanghai, China's buoyant commercial capital.

Kestrel Thermoplastics has secured an "important" contract to provide plastic materials used for road markings as a result of taking part in an Invest NI trade mission to Hong Kong and China.

The contract is the Co Londonderry company's first in China. Kestrel manufactures high performance reflective marking materials to European and worldwide standards.

"We've already shipped two container loads to a contractor in China which could become a very important market for us. The huge investment in infrastructure there is creating massive export opportunities," said Stephen Nugent, marketing executive of Kestrel Thermoplastics.

"We discovered that there was an Invest NI mission scheduled and decided that this was a particularly cost-effective way to test the market. We found considerable interest in our products and identified contacts that led directly to the order. So, it proved to be a very worthwhile mission for the company."

Kestrel Thermoplastics employs 12 people at its modern production plant and laboratory in Kilrea. It currently exports around one third of its products to customers in Europe and Australasia.

(MB/SP)